Is my replacement Roamio Pro new or refurbished?

TiVo had to RMA my Roamio Pro because of an ongoing SDV issue where it would throw V53 errors and stop tuning SDV channels approximately every 3 days to 1 week until I power-cycled my tuning adapter. Sadly it appears the new unit is behaving identically, but at least it rules out hardware including replacing the tuning adapter/CableCard. The replacement came in a brand new box with all of the original accessories/packaging so I'm hoping I received a new unit versus a refurbished. Is there any way to be sure?

TiVo had to RMA my Roamio Pro because of an ongoing SDV issue where it would throw V53 errors and stop tuning SDV channels approximately every 3 days to 1 week until I power-cycled my tuning adapter. Sadly it appears the new unit is behaving identically, but at least it rules out hardware including replacing the tuning adapter/CableCard. The replacement came in a brand new box with all of the original accessories/packaging so I'm hoping I received a new unit versus a refurbished. Is there any way to be sure?

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I forget where it is. But, a refurbished TiVo will have a 1 instead of a zero in a certain position, designating it a refurb. Don't sweat it until somebody confirms what the correct position for that 1 is (don't assume 0001 means refurb).

The new box doesn't mean anything, other than it may be camouflaged, instead of in a plain brown box. TiVo has plenty of refurbs in stock, and they are allowed to use them as replacements. I'd be shocked if they sent you a new one, but can't rule it out at this point.

TiVo had to RMA my Roamio Pro because of an ongoing SDV issue where it would throw V53 errors and stop tuning SDV channels approximately every 3 days to 1 week until I power-cycled my tuning adapter. Sadly it appears the new unit is behaving identically, but at least it rules out hardware including replacing the tuning adapter/CableCard. The replacement came in a brand new box with all of the original accessories/packaging so I'm hoping I received a new unit versus a refurbished. Is there any way to be sure?

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I would rather get a refurb as a replacement since a refurb typically has gone through more testing. Either way though, as long as it works properly it really shouldn't matter.

I don't know if the Roamio follows the same rule, But a Refurbished Premiere TSN is as follows:

Refurbished Premiere TSN: 746-0011-xxxx-xxxx

New Premiere: TSN: 746-0001-xxxx-xxxx

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Back when the TiVo HDs got a hardware revision that included the newest PROM firmware:

XXX-0001 was old

XXX-0101 was revised

XXX-0201 was revised

XXX-XX1X meant refurbished

Nobody ever figured out why two TiVo HDs with a manufacture date within days of each other had the 1 or 2 designation for the revision digit. I had one of each and did my best to figure it out. I guess it could have been different production facilities, if both were in Mexico. I got those two from the same Blockbuster store.

I never noticed any change in that revision digit on Premieres. The last of them I saw at Best Buy were still XXX-0001, even though they did update the PROM they shipped with at least once (likely several times), as well. Best guess, they didn't want people to cherry-pick, looking for ones that had newer PROMs, after the word got around on how to tell what was in a TiVo HD.

I still always aim for the highest serial number (remembering it's 0-9,A-F per "digit").

I tend to agree that a refurb Roamio hasn't had time to be cosmetically, or internally "aged", and *should* theoretically have a better chance of being fully tested, as opposed to just assembled and shipped, like new ones.

Most testing of consumer electronics is meant to check the circuits and soldering, and is done on the production line. That doesn't insure you receive a working product. Good facilities spot check one out of every so many made, but that's about all the testing a new consumer electronics product gets.

It's amazing some of the things you can learn, when you catch an episode of "How it's made", or the dozens of variants of the same thing on the Science channel...

My Elite, which was new when purchased, has the following TSN, any idea what the number 2 stands for? Do all Elite/XL4 models have the same starting sequence.

Elite TSN: 758-2001-xxxx-xxxx

My RoamioPro TSN: 840-0001-xxxx-xxxx

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I can't say for sure, since my number analyzing on the Premieres was limited to the 746 line. Best guess is that TiVo reserves that group of digits for revisions, designating refurbs, and however else they see fit (which may not automatically mean the same thing cross-platform). As far as getting TiVo to say what it means, you could ask, but I doubt they would tell. I'm surprised they don't use one of those digit places to designate products destined for resellers from those that are bought through TiVo directly (maybe they have, in some cases).

That said, you're taking the logical approach by looking for what other Elite/XL4 owners can tell you about the number in that position.

Hopefully, if the people who respond share all potentially relevant details, like date of purchase, date of manufacture, place of purchase, place of manufacture, and if it was a "plain brown box" or "glossy packaging", or was a replacement under warranty (specifying who handled the warranty) some patterns may emerge.

Some of the eBay listings include the TSN, so you might find some data to compare there.